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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29128875">if you wish to be loved</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/seleneantheia/pseuds/seleneantheia'>seleneantheia</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Merlin (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, M/M, Uther Pendragon's A+ Parenting (Merlin)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:20:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,985</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29128875</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/seleneantheia/pseuds/seleneantheia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A young Pendragon meets an old dragon.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kilgharrah &amp; Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>53</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>if you wish to be loved</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When a child wakes up from a nightmare, normally their parents would either bring them milk, tell them a story or let the child sleep with them.</p><p>Arthur is no ordinary child.</p><p>Being the son and only child of the iron-fisted ruler Uther Pendragon, the current King of Camelot, has its own advantages and disadvantages. Arthur is the second most important person in the whole kingdom, and his title allows him luxury that others could only dream.</p><p>It’s lonely, however, to be an important person with a title. A title that acts like chains and keeps him in check that he never must act as his own persona, that he must always think that his actions always reflect on his father and the whole kingdom.</p><p>Being a Pendragon means having no fears. Which is why when the seven-year-old prince wakes up from a scary nightmare alone in his seemingly massive and ominous chamber, he doesn’t cry nor asks for his father.</p><p>No, he’s definitely not crying. But it seems like his tears want to escape from his eyes. Yes. That’s it. It’s not his fault that his tears are scared, and they want to get out despite Arthur’s will to not cry. Because Arthur is not a coward. He’s not scared of the stupid nightmare. Stupid tears. Stupid nightmares.</p><p>He buries his face to the pillow, pulling the sheets up to cover his trembling body. The tears will not stop escaping from his eyes, even if he had already forgotten what the nightmare is about.</p><p>
  <em>Arthur…</em>
</p><p>Arthur’s tiny body freezes. The voice sounds guttural, so close yet so far away. Did he imagine it?</p><p>
  <em>Arthur…</em>
</p><p>No, it seems like it’s not his imagination. Someone is calling him, but he didn’t hear any of the doors or windows open. Arthur slowly pulls down the sheets, his small hands clutching the edge of the covers so tight that he can feel his nails painfully dig to his skin despite the barrier.</p><p>He peeks to his chambers, the sheet only revealing his blonde hair and his dilating blue eyes trying to adjust to the dark. He scans the room, but no one is there.</p><p>
  <em>Arthur…</em>
</p><p>Arthur is on the verge of screaming now. There are guards nearby, and they will waltz in if they hear their prince in distress. He doesn’t care if his father gets angry, he’s terrified.</p><p>
  <em>I meant no harm, young Pendragon. </em>
</p><p>“W-who are you?” he shakily asks, hating how his voice squeaks, and he slowly wriggles his body towards the edge of his bed to reach out his wooden sword.</p><p>
  <em>I only wish for someone’s company. I’m terribly lonely.</em>
</p><p>Arthur stops moving. “L-lonely?” he sits up properly, forgetting his own fears.</p><p>
  <em>Yes, it’s been so long since I had someone to talk to.</em>
</p><p>Arthur bites his lip. He knows what it feels like to be lonely, and he hates it. No one wants to hug him, and the other children of his age always avoid him. Only Leon and Gaius wants to play with him, but usually, they’re busy (Gaius is the court physician and Leon is a squire of Sir Pellinore), and Arthur always has training.</p><p>“Where are you?” he scrambles out of his covers and grabs his boots. It’s awfully cold, so he tiptoes to reach the handle of his wardrobe and carefully opens it. His winter coat above him, and no matter how much he tiptoes and jumps, he can’t reach it.</p><p>He gingerly climbs up, using one of the small doors of the bottom part of the wardrobe as a footstool. He manages to get inside the wardrobe and grabs the red woollen coat. He has difficulty wearing it, but he manages to insert his short arms on the holes.</p><p>Arthur grins at his achievement, ignoring how his back feels cold even though he’s wearing the coat now. Oh well, at least his front and arms are now warm. He rushes to climb down, excited on the prospect of a quest. His foot misses the improvised footstool, and he falls to the solid floor.</p><p>Arthur bites his lip again in pain. He’s not allowed to cry because his father will get mad at him. He rolls on his back, clutching his arm.</p><p>
  <em>Are you alright?</em>
</p><p>“Y-yes,” he answers in a small voice, as he stands up again still clutching his arm.</p><p>
  <em>You can answer honestly, young one. Does it hurt?</em>
</p><p>His eyes begin to water again and gives a small nod. He wants to answer properly, but he knows that if he does, he won't be able to stop himself from crying. Arthur braces himself for a lecture, knowing that it’s disrespectful to not answer when someone is talking to you.</p><p>
  <em>It’s alright. This will be our secret. Follow my voice and I will ease your pain.</em>
</p><p>He nods again and heads towards the doors. He’s done a lot of sneaking out before, but this is the first time he’ll be sneaking out this late at night. He reaches out for the handle, wincing in pain because of his other arm. As soon as he grabs it, he slowly pulls it and peeks outside of his doors.</p><p>The guards are at the end of the hallway. Arthur creeps behind them and follows a passage near his chambers. His experience of running and hiding from his annoying nursemaids aiding him as he evades from the guards.</p><p>
  <em>You’re getting closer.</em>
</p><p>Arthur follows the voice, his feet moving on its own despite not really planning on where he’s going. He finds himself in a staircase in the dungeons. He frowns when he sees the guards sleeping and snoring on the table. Arthur shrugs. He’ll tell his father tomorrow. He covers the last flight of the stairs and looks around the dungeons.</p><p>
  <em>In here.</em>
</p><p>Arthur’s head snaps to the opposite direction of the cells. He swallows thickly, his adventurous spirit dampens, as he finally gets the notion that following a stranger’s voice in the middle of the night is not a good idea.</p><p>
  <em>Does your arm still hurt?</em>
</p><p>At the question, his arm begins to throb. The stranger says he will ease the pain, so Arthur needs to find him! And he’s a Pendragon! A Pendragon is not a coward! He puffs his chest, ignoring his clammy hands as he heads to where the voice comes from.</p><p>He almost slips as he makes his way down the stairs but continues moving until he finds himself in a cave. His jaw drops open at the sight. This is... amazing! It’s like nothing he’s ever seen before!</p><p>“Where are you?” Arthur asks, his voice echoing throughout the cave. A gust of wind suddenly hits him, and his knees give out under him. He lands flat on his bottom, the gust of wind becoming closer and stronger and that’s where he notices.</p><p>A red, shiny gigantic lizard with wings wide as a house, flapping until he lands in front of a wide-eyed, gaping Arthur.</p><p>“I am not a lizard, child,” the lizard says to him as he tucks his wings on the side.</p><p>“What are you then?”</p><p>“A dragon, the last of my kind,” the lizard says to him solemnly.</p><p>“You’re not a dragon!” Arthur declares confidently. “Dragons are small! They’re as big as the banners in the castle!”</p><p>The lizard lets out a rough, repeating, guttural sound. Oh, hold on. The stupid lizard is laughing at him!</p><p>“You’re not allowed to make fun of me! I am the Prince of Camelot!” Arthur shouts at him, his voice breaking mid-sentence. He scrambles to stand up and accidentally moves his injured arm.</p><p>“Ow!” he cries out. The stupid lizard stops laughing and narrows his big, golden cat-like eyes at him.</p><p>“Come closer, child. I will heal you,” the lizard says, and Arthur wrinkles his nose. The lizard’s breath stinks!</p><p>“I am not a lizard,” the lizard huffs and Arthur pinches his nose with his other hand. “Do you not wish to wield a sword then?”</p><p>“I want to!”</p><p>“Then come closer,” Arthur frowns. No one can tell him what to do except for his father and the nursemaids and Sir Bedivere, his trainer. Alright, some people can tell him what to do. He braces his legs to the ground and scoots his butt, moving towards the lizard.</p><p>“Careful,” the lizard says as Arthur comes to the edge of the floor. He lets his legs dangle to the side. “Heal my arm!” Arthur shouts at the creature as he gently raises his injured arm.</p><p>The lizard huffs in amusement, but slithers his body and narrows his eyes at Arthur. The lizard is so close that Arthur can make out scribbles on his snout, so many lines and each making a round shape.</p><p>The lizard then moves back and takes a deep breath, and Arthur watches in anticipation. The lizard suddenly breathes fire on him. Arthur almost shouts in surprise, but the fire didn’t hurt him. It just feels warm and cosy, and he can feel the pain in his arm fading.</p><p>After several heartbeats later, the fire around him dissipates. “Wow! How did you do that!” Arthur exclaims, his voice filled with awe. He swings his arm. No pain at all! This is amazing!</p><p>“Magic,” the lizard says to him smugly.</p><p>The word is like a cold bucket thrown over Arthurs’ head. “B-but father says magic is evil! Magic corrupts people!” he protests.</p><p>“No, child. Magic is not good nor evil. Tell me, young Pendragon, does your arm still hurt?”</p><p>“No…” he answers in a small voice. Father says that magic is evil, but why can’t he feel any pain? The lizard has helped him.</p><p>“Are swords evil?” the lizard suddenly asks.</p><p>“Of course not! Swords are just mindless objects, stupid!” he says smugly, proud that he’s smarter than this lizard.</p><p>“But can it be used for evil?”</p><p>Arthur frowns, trying to remember his tutors’ lessons to him. He doesn’t know the answer to this question. But he knows swords can hurt people. He knows by experience because when he hit Morris with his wooden sword, Morris cried and had to listen to Gaius’ lecture. But the knights use swords to defend Camelot!</p><p>Arthur whines as the barrage of thoughts fill his mind. The lizard chuckles but takes pity on Arthur, whose head looks like it's about to explode as he experiences his first dilemma.</p><p>“Magic is like a sword. It can be used for good and evil.”</p><p>Arthur looks up to the lizard. “Are you really a dragon?”</p><p>“Yes, child.”</p><p>“Can you be my friend?” he innocently asks. The lizard seems surprised by his question.</p><p>“No, I cannot.”</p><p>“But why?! You said you’re lonely! I’m lonely too!” he pouts. Stupid lizard! He’s like the others!</p><p>“One day, you’ll meet a true friend,” the lizard adds before Arthur starts to cry.</p><p>“Really? When?” he beams at the lizard. Finally, a playmate! He will give him honey cakes, and let him borrow some of his toys. Oh, they will have so much fun!</p><p>The Great Dragon’s gaze softens as he stares at the hopeful eyes of the young Pendragon. So small for such a great destiny.</p><p>“Both of you are two sides of the same coin. You will protect and guide each other as you walk on the path ahead,” the lizard says cryptically.</p><p>Arthur didn’t understand a thing. He looks at the lizard, confused. It’s getting boring. “Can you tell me a story?” he asks.</p><p>“What story do you want to hear?”</p><p>“Uhm… About a king!” the lizard, if Arthur is not mistaken, grins at him.</p><p>“Are you sure?”</p><p>“Yes!” he answers impatiently. The lizard chuckles at him and shuffles on the rock where it’s perched. Once he finds a comfortable position, he turns to Arthur and begins telling him a tale.</p><p>The tale of the Once and Future King and The Greatest Sorcerer to Ever Walk the Earth.</p><p> </p>
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